Midday Update: Market Fades In Quiet Trading

Volume is light again on the exchanges, and the market has given back its gains from early trading. There hasn't been a lot of news, but we did get a handful of economic reports this morning:

• November new home sales totaled 407,000 (vs. 415,000 consensus). This was a -2.9% m/m decrease
• November existing home sales totaled 4.49 million (vs. 4.93M consensus)
• December consumer sentiment came in at 60.1 (vs. 58.8 consensus)
• Final Q3 GDP showed the economy contracted -0.5%, which is unchanged from the previous estimate

Asian markets were lower overnight, following news that Toyota (TM) would post its first ever annual loss. The Yen is also lower for a second day. Oil is lower, trading near $38.25, and the energy stocks are weak as well.

The 10-year yield is up a bit to 2.17%. And the VIX is -3% lower to 43.

Trading comment: The market action yesterday and today has been a bit disheartening. The put/call ratio was very low yesterday and again today, indicating that there might be a bit too much complacency in the market right now. This doesn't bode well for the Santa Claus rally I have been looking for, but I'll give the market the benefit of the doubt for now.